depends on your budget. lv is going to be less expensive. maui is more comfortable.

ideally, you spend fall/winter in lv and spring/summer in the bay area. summers are unhealthy hot in baja with no wind. great for diving, though. it's relatively quick and cheap to get back and forth. with the money you save you can go to maui for a few weeks and hit the best of all three.

A lot of people think they would be in heaven living on Maui, but you should probably go and spend some extended time there first, because living on an island is not for everyone. I was surprised by how, after just 10 days on Maui, I was starting to feel kindaÖ.closed in. Itís really expensive to go visit the other islands or the mainland (you have to fly or own a boat) thereís no ferry service between the islands, and itís super super expensive on Maui. You gotta know yourself, and in the words of Harry Calahan, ďA mans gotta know hisÖ.limitations.Ē

I really liked La Ventana, but I wasnít there in the summer: I hear itís brutally hot and empty._________________Kansas City

I lived in Maui twice. Didn't work for us because we couldn't take the cock-fighting-red-neck-big-truck and/or spiritual-crystal-whatever mumbo-jumbo mentality..

Been to La Ventanna and I don't think I could spend serious time there..

As far as a sailing goes, there is no comparison. Maui is just better by orders of magnitude - if you can navigate the stupid rules and crappy launches at certain places. Lots more to do in Maui as well. Once you live there for a while, the smallness of the place sort of diminishes.. That is, if you can get past the other quirks..

Everyone talks about retiring to a sailing destination but the reality is a lot different than what you day dream about.. You need to pick a place that is where you want to live (first) and happens to be a good sailing spot (second).. My opinion at least.

Last edited by pzwinakis on Sat May 11, 2013 11:55 am; edited 1 time in total

I guess I have to factor in that I could afford a decent house in LV, but only a crappy condo on Maui. I think there would be enough in LV to keep me entertained year round, even with the heat. Diving, fishing, gardening, hiking. Still a few years off, just idle daydreaming right now. Would love to hear from someone who lives in LV year-round what it's like in the low-season. What's the sense of community there for permanent residents, etc?

1) Hate to bring it up but medical care will be an issue for you. Either due to bumps and bruises due to all that awesome sailing you are gonna be doing or, sadly, as aging requires. I say sadly because as the years go by you are going to need more routine medical care and then, most likely at some point, non-routine medical care. Not sure how you feel about it but rural Mexico may not be able to delver what you need. I live on Maui and while the medical care here is not world-class, it is adequate. Lots of care available here too for sports injury rehab. Kind of like getting a tune-up when you need it.

2) Boredom will eventually set in if you live in a remote location. Yeah, the first years are gonna be awesome but sooner or later it will hit you. One day you are probably going to wake up and be like "man I'm pretty isolated here". From there on it will weigh on you like a ton of bricks.

Again, I speak from experience. I was lucky enough to have the proverbial "early retirement" and I moved to a remote location in Vietnam back in 2001. I lived 50 feet from the water in a fishing village. It was so windy there that I just sailed my brains out! After a year or two I had that epiphanous moment of "Jeez I really am out in the middle of nowhere." Being stubborn, and since the sailing was so good, I stuck it out a few more years. But by the time I came back to the USA I was so ready for that and just about kissed the ground when I arrived "home". Just something to think about. Especially if you are considering moving the majority of you financial assets out of the country and, perhaps, buying real estate.

The good news with my above points is that I am assuming you are healthy, young at heart, and have many many more years of windsurfing ahead of you!

Cheers,

-J

Ps. The big trucks, Pitbulls, crystal-wielding hippies and all that are an integral part of Maui. They are what they are. But if you are living in a condo that most likely means Kihei and you'll find less of that stuff there if it bothers you. Also, you could start out renting for a while to see if Maui life agrees with you.

There are zoning laws on Maui that affect wheather you can rent your house or condo as a vacation rental or not. The dwellings zoned for legal vacation rental (aka transient rental) are usually more expensive than the houses not zoned for rental for a term less than 6 months. So you probably could afford a house in the back neighborhoods of Kihei, Kahului or Wailuku.
As mentioned already, health care (and dental) would definatly be superior on Maui and is a major concideration if you have a family.
Kihei, Kahului, or Wailuku is like living in any American suburb with your
modern conveniences Home Depot, Walmart, Whole Foods, Costo, Safeway, movie theaters, concerts at the MCC. Plus the weather on Maui is nice year-round. Hurricanes are a big problem in southern Baja but not Maui.

Back to real estate, I hear in Mexico you don't really own the land, just the dwelling. Is that true??

That said:
Why not stay where you are and just spend winters in Baja? (where are you from anyway?) Alot of people from the gorge do that. The gorge is affordable enough to do just that.

1) Hate to bring it up but medical care will be an issue for you. Either due to bumps and bruises due to all that awesome sailing you are gonna be doing or, sadly, as aging requires. I say sadly because as the years go by you are going to need more routine medical care and then, most likely at some point, non-routine medical care. Not sure how you feel about it but rural Mexico may not be able to delver what you need. I live on Maui and while the medical care here is not world-class, it is adequate. Lots of care available here too for sports injury rehab. Kind of like getting a tune-up when you need it.

2) Boredom will eventually set in if you live in a remote location. Yeah, the first years are gonna be awesome but sooner or later it will hit you. One day you are probably going to wake up and be like "man I'm pretty isolated here". From there on it will weigh on you like a ton of bricks.

Again, I speak from experience. I was lucky enough to have the proverbial "early retirement" and I moved to a remote location in Vietnam back in 2001. I lived 50 feet from the water in a fishing village. It was so windy there that I just sailed my brains out! After a year or two I had that epiphanous moment of "Jeez I really am out in the middle of nowhere." Being stubborn, and since the sailing was so good, I stuck it out a few more years. But by the time I came back to the USA I was so ready for that and just about kissed the ground when I arrived "home". Just something to think about. Especially if you are considering moving the majority of you financial assets out of the country and, perhaps, buying real estate.

The good news with my above points is that I am assuming you are healthy, young at heart, and have many many more years of windsurfing ahead of you!

Cheers,

-J

Ps. The big trucks, Pitbulls, crystal-wielding hippies and all that are an integral part of Maui. They are what they are. But if you are living in a condo that most likely means Kihei and you'll find less of that stuff there if it bothers you. Also, you could start out renting for a while to see if Maui life agrees with you.

Hey! Forget about retiring there, what about an extended windsurfing vacation in Viet Nam? Can you tell us the village or area where the windsurfing is? What are the best months? How good is it; 4.0, 5.0, 6.0 most of the time? Can you get equipment there or do you have to bring your own?

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